Barclays announces £1.3bn losses

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But the liability is far less than speculated in the market, with mounting rumours suggesting the group's investment arm was nursing a £10 billion black hole in its finances.

The group, which brought forward its trading statement from November 27, said: "Today's extensive disclosure demonstrates the strength and resilience of our performance during the year and in particular during the turbulent month of October."

It had been rumoured that Barclays chief executive John Varley and Barclays Capital boss Bob Diamond were poised to quit the group, following in the footsteps of other recent high profile departures at Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

But in an attempt to quash the speculation - which had seen Barclays shares plunge by more than 12% in value last week - the group stressed its Barclays Capital investment banking division was trading ahead of last year.

It said the business delivered £1.9 billion in profits before tax in the first 10 months of the year - taking into account the £1.3 billion in write-downs.

Barclays Capital had the best fourth quarter monthly income level last month in its history, according to the group.

Shares surged 5% on the news in the first few minutes of trading as investors reacted with relief.

The update did not give any information on the wider group's performance or results for the UK business, but Barclays said it would provide a full third quarter business update as originally scheduled at the end of the month.

The bank had been facing increasing calls to disclose the extent of its exposure to crisis-hit US sub-prime mortgages and liabilities in the subsequent credit squeeze.